Link road near Shrewsbury will cost £4m more than expected thanks to seven-year delay
A planned major road in Shrewsbury is set to cost £4m more than originally thought due to a seven-year delay in the project.
But a major contributor has voted not to withdraw funding from the proposed Oxon Relief Road (OLR), after receiving assurances from Shropshire Council that the project can finally be delivered.
The planned road, which will connect the B4380 Holyhead Road with the A5 Churncote Roundabout in the west of the town, was awarded £4.2m of local growth funds in 2015 by the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) as a contribution to the then £13m cost of building the road.
But the delay in starting construction on the road saw the organisation considering a move to claw back the funding, with inflation costs placing the new figure for construction of the road at around £17.2m.
The project is seen as a key ‘enabling component’ of the town’s planned North West Relief Road.
The Marches LEP called an extraordinary general meeting held last week to seek reassurances from Shropshire Council, during which the group voted unanimously to continue to support the OLR project and not to initiate a clawback process for the funding.
Extra money for the scheme will now be found through land sales, and the drawdown of a community infrastructure levy for 835 new houses set to be built as part of the project.
The Marches LEP say 2,885 jobs will be supported by the scheme, with £774m added to the local economy.
“The board is satisfied based on the information put forward that the business case still supports the need for the road and that the council has the funding to complete the scheme,” said a spokesperson.
“The Marches LEP looks forward to the road scheme being built and the economic outputs being achieved.”
Shropshire Council has been contacted for comment.
